1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical instruments and more particularly to a surgical needle manipulator for use in manipulating a needle in a limited access area.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Manipulation of surgical needles is generally done with the assistance of a mechanical gripping device referred to as a needle holder or thumb forceps because of the relatively small size of the needle. Such gripping devices commonly used employ a pair of opposed gripping surfaces on a scissors-like device which also can include a ratchet-type lock to lock the gripping surfaces against the needle. Because of the pivoting scissorslike construction, the device requires some lateral room for opening and closing upon the needle. While this type of instrument is useful in many surgical procedures, the shear size of the instrument prevents its use in surgical procedures where the stitch being set by the needle is in an area of limited accessibility, for instance in the interior of the human body to which access is provided percutaneously through a cannula. Generally, such cannulas may have interior diameters of 5 to 10 millimeters which prevents the usage of standard surgical instruments.